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dated July 17, 1956: Krishna Menon's retort

"Those who had fought a war to keep their territories have no right to tell India what to do," said Mr. V.K.Krishna Menon when a panel member on the nation-wide television programme, Meet the Press, in New York on July 15 persistently questioned him on the subject of Kashmir. He told the panel member, Mr. Robert A. Smith, not to misrepresent facts. Framing his question on Kashmir, Mr. Smith said there had been nine different UN proposals for a plebiscite in Kashmir, that all the nine had been accepted by Pakistan, but India had objected to all of them. He asked how India reconciled this position with Mr. Krishna Menon's expressed belief in people being allowed to determine their own form of Government. In reply, Mr. Krishna Menon said: "We came to the UN because Pakistan had invaded Kashmir, a part of India. All we had asked for was UN good offices to have the invaders removed. Our initial complaint was that we had been invaded and that there had been a gross violation of international law." When Mr. Smith asked why India opposed a plebiscite in Kashmir, Mr. Krishna Menon replied sharply, "I object to misrepresentation of facts. Why don't you read the report of Sir Owen Dixon (U.N. representative on Kashmir in 1951) which said that Pakistan had invaded Kashmir." (Sir Owen had said in his report that he would be prepared to hold that the entry of the tribesmen as well as that of Pakistan into Kashmir was a violation of international law). When Mr. Smith asked, "Whose territory is it," Mr. Krishna Menon said: "There has been no plebiscite in Texas which the US fought a war to keep. Those who fought a war to keep their territories have no right to tell India what to do." (Texas, one of the American States, declared itself independent of Mexico in 1836 and was annexed by the US in 1845. The Mexican war followed). Mr. Krishna Menon said misrepresentation of facts in connection with Kashmir must be corrected.

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